


Reconciliation

by anotherbuskitten



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Mutants, F/M, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-09-27
Updated: 2014-09-27
Packaged: 2018-02-19 00:58:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,741
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2368394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anotherbuskitten/pseuds/anotherbuskitten
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>It's been a long time since he looked like himself.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Reconciliation

**Author's Note:**

> part of a mutant au that I have plenty of headcanons for but almost certainly won't write any more of

Regulus doesn’t notice any of the people he passes on the street so he doesn’t notice he’s passed his brother until the sound of his name being yelled at him.

He swivels round and feels his eyes widen at the sight of Sirius. He hasn’t seen his brother in almost nine years but it isn’t hard to recognise him. At eleven Sirius had been too tall for his body and too vibrant to fit into the darkness of their family; at nineteen it was obvious that Hogwarts had been good for him.

Regulus struggled around the lump in his throat at the sight of Sirius looking whole and healthy and comfortable in his body.

He wondered what he looked like; maybe Sirius saw him as younger and happier than he was, maybe he saw someone who looked less like their father, or maybe he saw someone unhappy and injured so as to justify leaving the family.

He wondered if Sirius could see his ghosts.

“Hey.” His voice came out rough and lost.

“Hey.” Sirius sounded like he had stars in his throat; so happy was the sound. Regulus couldn’t recall ever having elicited that reaction from someone. Whoever Sirius was seeing must be amazing.

He felt a prickle of jealousy at that imagined boy his brother saw.

“It’s good to see you.” Sirius was still staring at him like he was the first drink of a man dying of thirst. “Are you busy? Do you want to catch up?”

He considered, technically he did have some things to pick up, but the prospect of seeing that look directed at even a fake version of himself was a much better prospect than sitting at home with a bunch of delinquents and psychopaths plotting the demise of humanity.

“Alright.” He tries to make his agreement sound casual but suspects he’s failed. It’s been a while since he bothered to deliberately make an impression.

Sirius’ face lights up. “C’mon then I – wait, do you have a favourite place nearby?”

He smirks at Sirius’ rushed happiness and eagerness to please. “No. I haven’t been here before.” He waits for the interrogation that should come next – for Sirius to want to know where Riddle’s troops are hiding. It doesn’t happen.

“Great! Okay there’s a small café nearby – very mutant friendly don’t worry. Unless you want to go somewhere without people?”

“No, I, I haven’t eaten anything yet so food would be good.” It’s easy to get swept up in Sirius’ joyful energy.

“Does that include breakfast? It’s almost 5 o’clock Reg!” Sirius grabs his arm and pulls him back into the sway of the street.

The café is very out of the way and cramped, definitely not somewhere he would have found on his own. Sirius orders for both of them while grinning and winking at the girl behind the counter, she doesn’t react except to roll her eyes and flick hot water at him.

They sit down in a window booth near the back of the shop with a stack of cream buns and hot fruit tea. The waitress who brings the food over has long horns that twitch in time to her breathing. She says she’ll bring them over something more filling in a bit and Regulus blushes at the thought of how much Sirius must have ordered for him.

Left alone they both find that they don’t know where to begin talking. Regulus thinks awkwardly over the past nine years learning to control his mutation and manipulate others, of the time spent learning how to kill and wield weapons, of the propaganda he has helped spread and the people he has left bleeding in the dirt.

He has nothing left in common with Sirius. He is surprised at how much the realisation hurts.

“Are you friends with everyone here?” He asks instead as a pretty redhead waves as she walks past.

“Uh, most of them, I guess. Mary – you just met her – was our head-girl a few years ago and Rosmerta, who owns the place, used to live next door to my friend Remus.”

“And – is everyone who works here a mutant?”

“I’m not sure at the moment but I know they’ll hire normal humans as well. Ted, do you know Ted? He used to work here.”

Regulus shook his head. “I don’t know many sapiens.”

“Ted’s married to Andromeda.” Sirius is still grinning at him; he doesn’t seem even a little suspicious of him. Regulus couldn’t decide whether he thought this was condescending or sweet.

They talked a lot after that about everything and nothing barely touching upon the subject of mutants and never mentioning the conflict they were both invested in. Regulus found it a nice change of pace to his usual conversations.

It was only after a couple of hours eating and laughing that he dared to breach the subject of his appearance.

He conjured up the courage to ask while Sirius was on the phone to a friend. He kept biting his lip to keep from laughing and had not once tried to keep Regulus from overhearing.

While Sirius was trying to wind down the conversation Regulus tried to catch his reflection out of the corner of his eye in the window. It didn’t work and all he could see was his own, normal face. He had bags under his eyes which were bloodshot, his hair was a greasy mess; loosely held back in a clasp and he had a fading bruise peeking out from under his shirt. He looked only a few steps away from a tramp.

He closed his eyes and tilted his head back. He swallowed and tried to think back to the last time he had taken care of his appearance. Across from him Sirius was looking worried. He couldn’t hear his brothers voice anymore, he couldn’t hear anything except the rush of blood in his head.

Sirius dropped his phone on the table and said something to him. He couldn’t hear but guessed that something had happened to a friend; he tried to regulate his voice to normal and forced out;

“It’s-alright-you-don’t-have-to-stay-here-I’m-fine. I’m-fine-fine.” He couldn’t breathe.

Sirius reached across and took his hand, knocking an empty mug to the floor as he did, he could see the china crack and the dregs of tea stain the floorboards. Sirius swept the rest of their cutlery to the side and with the hand not gripping Regulus forced his face up so they were staring at each other.

Sirius mouth formed wide, exaggerated words in time to his gasping breaths. He swallowed, coughed and lowered his face into Sirius hands. They smooth over his neck and he can feel the panic retreating. Sirius comes round to his side of the booth and pulls him into a warm comforting hug exactly like the ones he remembered from his childhood.

He let himself collapse into it and relax.

//

When Regulus resurfaces he’s lying in the softest bed imaginable feeling better rested than he has in years. Above him he can hear a soft conversation between Sirius and a stranger.

“…should tell someone if he’s ill.”

“He’s just tired otherwise I’d take it.”

“..tt..you should still call someone. Does he have a phone?”

“I can’t call someone, Lil; all his friends will want me dead.”

“Don’t exaggerate Sirius.”

“I’m not! He’s…he’s…” Sirius trailed off. Regulus tried not to wince at the idea his brother can’t talk about him to his friends.

He tries to sit up. His head spins and he allows himself to be softly pushed back down by a firm hand. “How’re you feeling?”

“Fine. Sorry for causing trouble.”

“It’s no trouble.” Said the stranger, who turned out to be the pretty redhead from earlier in the café. “Is there anyone we should call?”

He blanched, “No, there’s no one. I’ll just be going.”

“If you’ve no one to get home to then you can stay for dinner.” She said quickly, “I have to go and get James so there’s plenty of time to get settled.”

She swept out of the room while he was still processing what she had said.

“That’s Lily.” Said Sirius quietly, “She’s very…intense.” He grinned though it quickly vanished into worry, “I hope you don’t mind I brought you to hers; they’re close by and I live at the other side of town.”

“It’s fine. As long as she doesn’t mind.”

Sirius’ lips twisted up, “If she can help people then Lily’s usually happy to do just about anything.”

This time when he tries to sit up his head stays still. He pushes the bedcovers back. “Who’s James?”

“Lily’s boyfriend. My best friend. They’re sickening together. James flew into a hang-glider today, that’s what my phone call was about.”

Regulus feels himself jerk back in surprise. “Is he alright?”

“Yep. He does this all the time.”

Regulus swings his legs out of the bed and stands; only slightly wobbly. “It’s great of your friends to offer me a seat but I really should go.”

“Go where?” Sirius’ arm shoots out to block his way. “You just said you had no one to go home to.” He’s frowning.

“No one who’ll be missing me.” He corrected, despite knowing it would only anger Sirius. “That doesn’t mean I shouldn’t get back.”

“Yes it does.” Sirius sighs, “If you leave it’ll be another decade before I see you again and it’ll probably be on a battle field.”

He looks sad and tired. Regulus thinks he might look the same way.

He opens his mouth to refuse again and instead asks, “What do I look like to you?” He blushes after but still stares stubbornly at his brother.

Sirius pauses before speaking. “Tired. You look like this is the first sleep you’ve had in a week. You’re unwashed and pale, you move like a robot and you sound like you’ve just gone through puberty. You’re far too thin and you had bruises down your sides when I put you to bed.” He breathed out through his nose, “And you look a lot younger than seventeen.” He finished.

Regulus sunk down onto the bed. That had been what he saw in the window earlier. That was what he looked like on his own.

“You see me.” He whispered; shocked to find tears springing to his eyes.

“Of course I do.” Sirius sat down next to him and curled an arm round him. “I always do.”

**Author's Note:**

> Mutations:
> 
> Regulus: changes to fit how others want to see him.
> 
> Sirius: can take on other people’s injuries; includes a healing factor. Secondary mutation is being able to see the victims of violent deaths; and later being able to talk to them.


End file.
